The last month has been one of the more trying and stressful times I have experienced in my life, and what is the cause for that you might wonder? Two words: residency applications. Today I want to tell you a little bit about what I experienced going through the application process, and also tell you about the new online application system known as PhORCAS, so that if you are applying for residencies in the future you can have a little bit of an idea of what you are in for.
PhORCAS is a new system that just started this year, so I got to be the guinea pig! Overall the system was nice and probably a bit easier to manage since it was all online; however, there were a few hiccups because it was a new program. One caveat to the following advice is that PhORCAS may make some improvements for next year, so don’t take my experiences as a guarantee that you will experience the same thing in the future. First thing to note is that it took a long time for my transcripts to be posted to PhORCAS after I sent them from my institutions – so don’t wait until the last minute! Get them ordered and sent as early as possible. I sent ahead a copy of my transcripts from ONU that did not have my fall grades so that I would have official transcripts posted in advance of all of my deadlines, and then followed that with transcripts that contained my fall grades - this is something you can always consider. The other big thing about PhORCAS is that there were reports of people not being able to submit their applications if they waited until right before the deadline to try to e-submit the application. My advice would be to e-submit your applications early and then let your transcripts and letters of recommendation follow. You are allowed to submit your application without transcripts and letters of recommendation, and your programs will see your application as in progress and be able to view what you have so far. Once everything is in, your application will be shown to programs as complete. There isn’t any harm in submitting your applications early, but you may cause yourself some trouble and headaches if you wait until the last minute.
After I returned home from MidYear, I spent the next several days finalizing the list of programs that I was going to apply to and making sure that my reference writers had a final list. I had already contacted my writers ahead of time, so at this point I was just ensuring that they knew exactly which programs I was applying to and that they had all of the information that they needed. Once that was done I just started going through my list of programs and preparing all of the application materials that each program needed, which generally included a letter of intent, a CV, transcripts, reference letters, and any additional documents unique to a certain program. Writing my letters of intent was incredibly stressful and time consuming, so leave yourself enough time to get those done and not feel rushed. Once I submitted my applications, I thought the worst part was over. I had already made my final decision about which programs to apply to, double and triple checked that my applications were completed, and gone through the submission process – unfortunately, the worst part was yet to come. Now, I am finding out that the hardest thing about this whole process is waiting to hear about interviews. I heard from one program right away after the deadline passed, but my other programs have been slower to respond. At this point the only thing I can do is to remain as positive as possible, and wait to see what happens.
If you have any specific questions regarding residency applications or the PhORCAS submission process, please don’t hesitate to contact me. I hope you found some of this information helpful, especially if you are considering applying for a residency in the future!
#PhORCAS #Residency